The sports of skateboarding and snowboarding have reached new heights of popularity in recent years. A skateboard includes a board with wheels attached to the underside, and is designed for riding on a sidewalk or in a specially designed skatepark. A snowboard includes a board with a waxed underside and bindings for securing the feet of a rider to the snowboard, and is designed primarily for riding on a snow-covered slope or in a specially designed snowpark.
Riding a skateboard is similar to riding a snowboard in that the rider assumes a sideways stance on both types of boards. However, one primary difference is that, in skateboard riding, the rider's feet are free to leave the surface of the skateboard, whereas in snowboarding, the rider's feet remain securely attached to the snowboard. Skateboard riding has evolved to include a host of well known tricks such as ollies, kickflips, shovits, etc., which take advantage of the ability to remove the rider's feet temporarily from the skateboard during performance of the trick. These tricks are not able to be performed on current snowboards because the bindings prevent the rider's feet from leaving the snowboard.
One problem with current skateboards is that they are unable to be ridden successfully on snow, because the wheels of the skateboards dig into the snow and cause the skateboards to stop suddenly. Attempts to ride skateboards on snow generally result in crashes. For riders who reside in cold-weather climates, this renders skateboards unusable outdoors during the snowy season, which may last for many months.
It would be desirable to provide an apparatus that is capable of being ridden in the snow, and that is configured to allow temporary removal of a rider's feet from the apparatus, to enable a rider to perform a wide variety of maneuvers.